In this article, Felicia Johnson presents a portrait of her daughter Shelby, who was diagnosed as profoundly deaf at the age of 6 months. At ten months, she was diagnosed as an achondroplastic dwarf, and at 18 months old she was discovered to be missing 50 percent of her myelin sheath. Believing in Shelby's independence, Johnson refused to do things for Shelby, and has found that having high expectations and never telling Shelby she cannot do something has made her ready to try anything, and it has been a pleasure to give her the opportunity and the tools and to see her succeed.